Actions speak louder than words QTIC

The Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) warns the Federal Government needs to back up their word with action to the state’s struggling employment sector and tourism industry.QTIC chief executive Daniel Gschwind said whilst the government has shown support to the manufacturing industry to prevent further job losses, nothing is being done to protect thousands of jobs in Cairns.“Tourism is one of Queensland’s top industries, yet we are seeing no action,” Mr Gschwind said.Mr Gschwind reported that figures show in 2008-2009 tourism provided for 220,000 jobs or ten per cent of the total employment in Queensland.On the back of Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s acknowledgment last week that the government needs to ‘strongly engage’ with the tourism industry, Mr Gschwind said that this is “just the first step” in restoring Queensland’s struggling tourism industry.“Saying it needs to ‘strongly engage’ with the tourism industry is just not enough, the federal government needs to put real initiatives in place to ensure our industry is supported as much as other industries, such as manufacturing,” Mr Gschwind said.He said tourism operators have been forced to close their doors, as the industry continues to compete with the high Australian dollar which is driving domestic travellers to book overseas destinations instead of local holidays.“The boom in the resource sector is obviously the focus at the moment but we run the risk of further long-term damage to our economy and our regional communities if the government fails to recognise the significance of our tourism industry.” High Aussie dollar has encouraged travellers to look overseas for their holidays Source = e-Travel Blackboard: S.P